Disclaimer; I do not own Barajou no Kiss or its lovely characters.

An Ideal Knight

Mitsuru Tenjoh x Anis

Every girl dreams of their prince, their knight in shining armor. Anis was no exception. Ever since she was a child, she imagined him to be charming, elegant, eloquent, and handsome, of course. Once upon a time, she once thought that Mitsuru Tenjoh, the third year president, was her ideal knight. He was every school girl - and boy's - fantasy.

Now?

...Anis wasn't sure anymore.

All of the other Rhode Knights, as well as Anis, shuddered violently once the White Rose's completed yet another flowery, passionate speech, feeling their own stomachs' coil and twist.

'So gross...' thought Anis, rolling her scarlet eyes at Mitsuru's words.

To think, she once was one of those girls that admired him! Now the young pinkette certainly knew better. When she got to know Mitsuru, her ideal prince was promptly shattered into a trillion irreplaceable pieces. She couldn't possibly understand how she allowed herself to be blinded by those handsome features, his gentlemanly disposition, that gorgeous voice...

Anis vehemently shook her head of such dangerous thoughts.

The only thing she knew for certain?

Mitsuru Tenjoh was certainly not the kind of guy she was looking for. Nope, absolutely not.

"Lady Anis?"

The young girl slowly aroused herself of her musings, turning her head to face the source of such noise.

…And came to regret it.

Anis immediately scooted back as far a she could from her seat, embarrassed by such close proximity to the white-haired man.

"Don't be so close to me, Tenjoh-senpai!" she shouted, her heart hammering against her rib cage.

"My sincere apologies, Lady Anis. It was not my intention to frighten you," said Mitsuru, lowering his body into an apologetic bow. "I merely wanted to offer my dominion my services at later hours."

Her visage remained completely blank, unwavering, yet completely and utterly confused. Just what the heck was he trying to say?

"To clarify in laymen's term, Lady Anis," Mitsuru said, an elegant smile spreading over his face, "I simply think it would be wise if I am with you for a little while after school, to offer protection as well as perform other services, of course."

Everything was silent. All eyes were on the young man, at that sparkle in his eyes, that blinding face.

Anis was the first to react. Her body suddenly became heated, forming an uncomfortable warmth in her face. She replied bluntly, "There's no way I'm hanging out with you after school! Not even if my life depended on it!"

She supposed her life would be safer if she avoided hanging out with him longer than necessary. Mitsuru's fan girls would be plotting for sweet vengeance against her. The vice president and his lackeys would simply commit homicide if the time called for it.

Besides all that, his entire presence simply repulsed her. The only way she could possibly agree to it is if she had some sort of chemical imbalance in her head and enjoyed the taste of vomit in her throat. She was not that masochistic.

Before Mitsuru, or any of the other Rhode Knights for that matter, could utter a single word, a voice spoke up, capturing all their attentions. "I'm glad to see you guys are all here."

After a violent shake of her pink hair, red orbs turned to see Itsushi Narumi enter the room, adjusting his glasses. Ninfua floated directly beside him, that same toothy grin embossed on his mouth.

"So, everyone remembers why I called you all here, right?"

Anis limply nodded her head. Of course. Even she in her most dull witted of moments remembered. They had these meetings once in awhile to discuss their collection progress and their next course of action in retrieving the Arcana Cards.

Itsushi cleared his throat. "Let's get on with this, shall we?"

X[x]X[x]X

The night had quickly swept over their small town, swallowing everything in a blanket of blackness. Tendrils of silvery white danced with the dank shadows, attempting stretch its fingers through and caress Anis's tired face.

The pinkette released a soul felt sigh, filling her lungs with nightly oxygen before pushing it right out.

Talking about all these issues, especially the Arcana cards, with the Rhode Knights always seemed to enervate her of all strength, leave her as an exhausted shell. It was also those moments that made her miss her obscurity, the life of complete anonymity.

...It was also those moments that reminded her of her own fragility, her weakness.

'I'm so useless...' She wasn't like the other guys, gifted with some special power. All she could do was stand on the sidelines and simply watch them. She was stuck as normal, average Anis.

The young girl laid her tired head on the balcony ledge. An occasional stream of moonlight filtered through the dense clouds, flickering over her features.

She needed to talk to someone and have the company of some human being. Her ruby orbs glanced down at the cards in her hand.

She suddenly perked up. 'I'll call one of these guys!'

But just who should she summon? Mitsuru was automatically ruled out. There was no way she should subject herself to his gross behavior more than necessary. Mutsuki would most likely make her feel even worse. She called on Kaede several times before, and didn't wish for a repeat incident of the last time she called on him on such a late hour.

That left only one knight left.

"Seiran! Just seeing that adorable face would cheer me right up!"

The pinkette strained her eyes in the darkness, willing the moon to make an appearance and shine. She could barely see which card she was holding, let alone decide which one summoned Seiran.

"I think this looks pretty blue..." Anis lifted one card from the four, holding it aloft. She squinted her eyes, trying to distinguish an exact color. "Oh well... Here goes nothing."

The Rose Princess gently brought the card closer, pressing her lips against the stiff paper. Petals immediately began to swirl and dance around her. Such a gorgeous sight usually filled her heart with wonder and awe... but for some reason, now filled her with a sense of dread.

Why? Didn't she choose the right card...?

Moonlight finally broke through the impenetrable sea of clouds, bathing the world in white light. Everything was perfectly clear. Her heart dropped. Anis felt her face match the color of the petals, a pale, ghastly white.

"You called for me, my dominion?"

Anis merely stared at the White Knight's form as he awaited for her to speak.

Pink lashes blinked once. Twice.

Then she performed the most clichéd act possible.

She screamed.

"No! What are you doing here, Tenjoh-senpai?" she shouted in complete horror.

Mitsuru straightened his posture and asked, "Well, didn't you summon me here?"

"Oh, no! I didn't want to summon you! Get off my balcony!" Anis immediately lunged forward, attempting to push him right off. Mitsuru didn't move a single muscle, merely regarding her with smoldering blue eyes.

"Why would you do that? I assumed you'd like some company to help unload your heavy heart."

Anis froze. She took a few steps back, ruby eyes staring straight up at him. "What? What makes you think that something's bothering me?"

"Hm... Let me see. It is terribly late right now, and there does not seem to be any negligible signs if danger. If you aren't troubled, the only other plausible reason would be you would like to see me."

Anis scoffed at such an absurd notion. "You wish."

She proudly stepped around him to the balcony rails, resting her head once more on her arms.

There was only the sound of silence, the gentle scent of roses drifting in the night air. Neither figure spoke a single word. Anis kept her gaze downcast, refusing to even glance at the man.

The silence soon grew insufferable. She just couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm scared."

Mitsuru, who did not divert his gaze from her for even a single moment, promptly answered, "What?"

"You wanted to know what was bothering me, and I told you," mumbled the young princess, the planes of her face sad and forlorn. "I'm... scared."

"What are you afraid of, Lady Anis?" he asked her.

"Of everything! Of not finding these Arcana Cards and everyone who would be affected. Of wondering what crazed fan girl or boy would threaten me and my life. Of whatever my terrible luck would bring me. Do you want to know what really scares me? More than all those things combined?" Anis paused for a moment. She took his silence as his answer. "What scares me most... is failing you guys as your dominion."

Mitsuru quickly assured her, "Why would you think that? You won't -"

"How do you know that?" she asked, interrupting him completely. "Compared to you guys, I'm so weak. I'm only weighing you all down."

The pink-haired girl inhaled a sharp breath before allowing the silence to swallow her, consume her thoughts and make her wallow in her own self-pity.

That stillness was short-lived.

Mitsuru spoke up, "Anis... You're not weak. Not at all. You're the strongest girl I have ever met."

She released a bitter laugh. "Oh, you're just saying that."

"No, I am not." Anis suddenly stopped laughing, listening to him continue. "As your Rhode Knights, we derive our power from our dominion's blood. We are strong because you are strong, Anis. Please do not think yourself as weak."

The pinkette fell completely still, considering the words in her mind. She felt a smile curl at her lips and said words she never expected she's say. "T... Thank you, Tenjoh-senpai. I really needed that."

"Well I am merely glad you trusted me enough to share your grievances," he replied.

"Yeah, yeah. Because it is your 'duty as my knight to comfort your dominion' and all that junk, right?" Anis scoffed, rolling her eyes at the thought.

"...It's because I don't like seeing you sad."

Her breath was caught in her throat, shocked by such a proclamation. She slowly turned her head towards him.

Mitsuru was down on one knee, arms place gentlemanly across his knee. "It is my personal duty as your White knight to protect you from everything... and preserve that smile on your face. I will always be there for you, Lady Anis."

The evening chill seemed to escape her face, chased away by a sudden warmth. She quickly turned around, mumbling an embarrassed, "T... thanks..."

'Maybe... Mitsuru isn't all that bad...'

There were times when the man could be impossibly corny and gross, but really, he's a decent guy. Not a bad person at all.

"Perhaps, my dominion could bestow a kiss for my humble services." Her cheerful bubble was popped. She snapped her head towards him. Her brow was raised and staring at him in confusion. "That would be a much better way to show your gratitude than with words."

...It seemed Anis had spoken far to soon. Her fists clenched, her nerves pulsing in her temples.

A black thorn whip suddenly appeared around Mitsuru and tossed him inelegantly over the balcony.

'Stupid man...' Anis inwardly growled, satisfied by a loud plunk. She wiped her hands, as if fearing that his eccentricity was contagious. She took a single step forward and then looked down.

Shining brilliantly in the moonbeams was a single white rose.

She plucked the flower off the ground, breathing in its sweet flowery scent.

Perhaps her ideal knight won't come in the most conventional of ways. He won't come on a white stallion, clad in luminescent steel.

Maybe her ideal knight was someone who arrived in a flurry of rose petals.

A/N Notes: My first Barajou no Kiss fanfic. I couldn't resist doing one... even if the title totally sucks in my opinion. I opted for a Mitsuru oneshot because there were already ones on Kaede and Mutsuki. Just wanted to add some variety. :]

I wanna do a Seiran and a Haruto one... COME ON BRAIN! BE INSPIRED ALREADY.

Anyways, thanks for reading~